veggie tortilla soup

I know I'm posting a lot of soups, but it's winter and I LOVE SOUP. Calling this particular dish a soup is kind of pushing the boundaries anyway, as it is so hardy and chock full of chunky vegetables and delicious flavor! This recipe will feed four or five hungry friends easily, and you'll probably still have leftovers. I would suggest adding cilantro to the recipe if you're into that sort of thing, but you will NEVER see it in my recipes, I'm one of those people- cilantro totally ruins a meal for me. See below the recipe for an awesome leftover suggestion and a picture of one of my cooking buddies.

Here's what you need:

one cup crushed tortilla chips

4 medium sized tomatoes

one onion, diced

4-6 cloves of garlic, diced

2-4 jalapenos, chopped

4 small red potatoes, cubed

one 15 oz. can black beans

one 15 oz. can corn

one 5 oz. can diced green chilis

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 cups vegetable broth

3 tbsp chili powder

one tbsp garlic salt

one tbsp onion powder

red pepper flakes, paprika, 

salt and black pepper

sour cream for garnish

Pro-tip before you begin! When I'm preparing meals that involve a lot of vegetable cutting and prep-work, I keep a large bowl close by on the counter to quickly discard all trash/compost. It eliminates a surprising amount of walking back and forth between the work space and the trash can, and if you do compost it's even better.

Fun fact: I believe this "trash bowl" technique was popularized by Rachel Ray, but I'm NOT a fan.

 READY? Here's what you do: Prep your veggies, of course! Chop, dice, cube, open cans and strain the beans and corn, and get your spices ready. It's a smooth operation once you are fully prepped and ready to cook. In a large pot on medium heat, saute the onions in oil. Once they are soft and just beginning to brown, add the diced garlic and jalapenos. Saute another ten minutes or so and then add the broth, cubed potatoes, diced tomatoes, green chilis, and spices. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat back down, simmering covered for about 15-20 minutes; add the beans and corn and cook for another 15. I threw in another dash of chili powder and extra red pepper for good measure (I like my food spicy!) and mixed in the tortilla chips last. Ta-da!

I garnished mine with a dollop of sour cream, but it would also be good topped with a sharp cheese, cilantro, plain yogurt, or more chips!

Miss Cleo helps me cook. (She really just wants to eat cheese.)

MAKE LEFTOVERS AWESOME: I preheated the oven to 400, hollowed out half of an acorn squash (like a bowl) and filled it with the soup. I baked it for about 40 minutes, added grated cheddar cheese to the top and baked it for five more minutes. It. Was. Amazing.